


The rest of their lives. Spreading out before them.

by parka_girl



Category: B.A.P, Topp Dogg (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 08:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2421143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parka_girl/pseuds/parka_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jongup evacuated Earth almost four years before Sangwon (Yano) did. Now he has to wait for Sangwon to join him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The rest of their lives. Spreading out before them.

Jongup waits because he has no other choice. Because time flows only one way for him; forward. He waits because there's nothing else he can do. He builds a life, one day at a time. He wonders what it's like, on the other side. Or, no, he knows. He used to know. But the memories are fading. It seemed like a blink of an eye, a flash, and he was there. But he knows that's not the case. It takes years, for them and for him. 

They were friends when they were little, inseparable. And although technically Jongup was older, that never mattered between them. Not when they were kids nor when they were teenagers. The world changed around them, but their friendship remained the same. It wasn't until the evacuation that everything changed. Except, Jongup remembers as he scrolls through the list of arrivals, it changed the first time when they were ten. 

When they were talking about girls and Jongup had said how gross they were and Sangwon had agreed. They'd looked at each other and, though they were both ten, Jongup had leaned in a kissed Sangwon, like he'd seen his mum kiss his dad. Sangwon had kissed him back. It was kind of gross, but Jongup kind of liked it. They hadn't talked about it, not until they were both fifteen. Or, rather, Jongup was fifteen and Sangwon was almost fifteen. They were both a little drunk and this time it was Sangwon who kissed him first. 

Jongup kissed him back and they started sleeping together soon after. If either of their families knew, no one mentioned it. It's not that their part of the world was suddenly progressive, it was more that there were other, bigger, things to worry about than who their sons were sleeping with. But they were teenagers and the only thing that matter were their feelings for each other. 

The list ends and Sangwon's name isn't on it. It hasn't been on it for six months. Jongup returns to his room. He stretches out on his bed and stares at the ceiling. It had been almost two years since he last saw Sangwon. Three since the evacuations started. Jongup's family had been in the middle group and he'd been forced to go with them, because only families were allowed to travel together, unless you had none. Which meant that Jongup had to leave Sangwon on Earth. 

An Earth that had been dying around them since before they were born. As their relationship was growing, the Earth was falling apart. Once evacuated onto one of the space stations, Jongup had found a job away from his parents. If they'd given him permission, he could've stayed on Earth with Sangwon and they would've traveled together. Except they hadn't. And he hadn't forgiven them and sometimes he doubted he ever would. 

Saying goodbye to Sangwon was the hardest thing he'd ever done. They'd prepared for military service together, planning to enlist at the same time. But the evacuations started before they'd gotten the chance. It was right before Jongup's birthday when they had to leave. He was 20 and Sangwon still 19. And now he's 23 and Sangwon would be, too, according to the calendar on Jongup's wall computer. The date says November 30th. Almost four years, he thinks. 

The days blur together Jongup begins to feel himself fading, just like his memories. He won't speak to his family. Instead he shows up to the job he does, but isn't paid for (not as though he has things to buy, everything's provided for as long as one works). After work, he eats dinner and then goes to check the list. It shows the names of all the arrivals, people who are in the tube, on their way to the stations. There are billions of people, but at least the names are in alphabetical order and sorted by country. 

It is the middle of January, around the same time he departed Earth four years ago when he sees Sangwon's name on the list. Jongup thinks he's seeing things. He must be. But it's there, all the stats check out. He's scared. What if Sangwon doesn't remember him, what if Sangwon didn't get the messages he sent back (not that he got any in return, those were restricted for government use only). Jongup checks the arrival times and then calls off work the next day. Family emergency is his excuse, because Sangwon is the family he loves most. 

He's not the only one in the waiting area. But he's the only one staring at the door. He's the one who notices the emergency personnel rushing around. He's the one demanding answers that no one will give him. He paces for a bit, before one of the women in the room tell him to sit because he's making everyone nervous. He wants to yell at her, because he's nervous. Because he's scared. Because something's wrong and Sangwon is so close and yet so far. 

Jongup's read the news reports, he knows what life is like on Earth now. There are fires, floods and more disasters everyday. Each seemingly worse than the previous. He knows that South Korea is basically uninhabitable, that many of the people knew were dead. But Sangwon's name never showed up on those lists, either. But he'd never given up, he couldn't live with himself if he had. Which meant he spent his time going through the motions, waiting and hoping, day after day. 

Through the windows of the waiting room, Jongup watched as they wheeled the pods out of the tube. Each pod contained fifteen people. Jongup didn't know how many pods there were in total, they were almost always in motion, going from the station empty to Earth and returning to the station full up of people. The first few pods were fine, but as Jongup watched, he saw pods that looked like they were covered in ash. When a worker's hand brushed against it, their gloves came away black. 

Jongup felt like he was going to throw up, but he couldn't turn away from the window. And so he watched as they pulled out the rest of the pods, one by one. Until the last one came out, half of it was missing. Jongup had no idea what went wrong but it took all of his self-control not to completely fall apart. He'd waited so long for Sangwon. He knew, rationally, that it wasn't fair of him to care more about himself than others, but he didn't give a fuck. He wanted Sangwon in his life again or it wasn't worth living.

The pods disappeared into the disembarkment room. Jongup returned to a sit, next to a small child and two elderly adults. Suddenly he realized she must be waiting for her parents and felt like a complete asshole for being so selfish. He put his head in his hands and struggled to get himself under control. The door opened, then closed. Jongup looked up, but it was just another person like them, dressed in the clothing of the station, waiting for the pods to be emptied. Jongup leaned back in his chair and stared at the wall across from him. The clock in the upper right corner said it was nearly four am. Usually the pods would've been emptied by now and people reunited, but obviously this time was different. The timer, located below the clock, was still there, but it was stopped at 0:00, no longer counting down. 

A crackle of static filled the air and then a voice echoed around the room. They were informed that the passengers would be listed on the screen on the wall. The names started scrolling and it was only after a few moments that Jongup realized they were grouped together. The voice crackled to life, startling everyone in the room. They were told to locate the number of the person they wanted to greet and go to the designated room. By the time Jongup got up close enough to the screen, it had started all over from the beginning. But then, right there, he saw Sangwon's name. He felt his knees start to give and tears prickle behind his eyes. He forced himself to focus and found the number. He was to go to room 15. 

He turned away from the screen and exited the room the same way he'd come in. There was a man at a table waiting for them. He gave them Sangwon's name and room number. He had to explain who he was (Moon Jongup), how long he'd been on the station (almost four years) and his relationship with Sangwon (best friends). Evidently he passed whatever test it was they were administering and a woman led him down the hall. Jongup could hear voices as he passed by different rooms, but he didn't look. 

The door to room 15 was the same as all the others, except there was a number 15 on the nameplate outside of it. The woman opened the door and Jongup walked in. There were maybe ten people in the room. They all turned toward him and for a moment Jongup thought he'd come to the wrong room. Then he heard his name, he turned. Sangwon was sitting on one of the chairs, away from the rest of the people. 

Jongup started to walk toward him, but his knees felt like they were giving out. Sangwon was crossing the room, running fast. Sangwon's arms around him, Jongup's around his neck. They were both crying, loud ugly tears. Jongup couldn't control his emotions anymore. Sangwon, Jongup realized, couldn't either. Sangwon's fingers on his face and Jongup was stepping in closer, apologies tumbling off his lips. But Sangwon was shaking his head, whispering words back at him. Words of love. I love you, he heard, then I miss you. Over and over. Jongup lifted his hands up, framing Sangwon's face in his hands and then kissed him. 

Sangwon kissed him back. It was a kiss of hello, of goodbye, of I love you and I'm sorry. Jongup didn't care who saw or knew. All that mattered is that Sangwon was here. They could talk about everything else later, when Sangwon was safely with him. Sangwon's mouth opened against Jongup's and their kiss turned into desperation. Jongup whispered words against Sangwon's mouth before they pulled apart, promised to never leave him again and he heard the promises echoed back from Sangwon. 

He'd never forgive his parents for separating them, but now that Sangwon was here, with him, and real, Jongup knew he could talk to them again. To explain what happened. He held Sangwon to him, letting Sangwon cling to him, as they waited through the medical procedures and registration. And then Jongup ask if Sangwon would like to live with him and there was no hesitation when Sangwon said yes. 

One day, when they were older, they'd talk about what happened. About Sangwon's time on Earth and his tube ride. About Jongup's life on the station, before Sangwon. But that was later. That was the rest of their lives. Spreading out before them.


End file.
